*** Return to my website:

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Week 6 ~ A Snowball To The Face Is Surely The Perfect Beginning To A Lasting Friendship

I found this phrase standing alone, outside the context of the
book, "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, from which it is taken. "A
Snowball To The Face Is Surely The Perfect Beginning To A Lasting
Friendship" is a very funny and evocative sentence. When we normally
think about approaching someone in a friendly way, especially with the
intent to start up a friendship, we don't normally think of doing it by
throwing a snowball at that person's face. That twist in "logic" is what
makes this so funny and it illustrates what would be called a "pattern
interrupt."

A "pattern interrupt" is a way to change a person's state or
behavior using unexpected actions or words. It actually can be used to
interrupt anything; for example, did you ever ask someone a question
when they were in the middle of a story and they can't remember where
they left off? Or you start to do something and after being interrupted,
can't remember what it was? These are all pattern interrupts and can
cause momentary confusion, but can also create an open state in which
the shift in your attention can interrupt your own or someone
else's non-resourceful state, whether we are caught in a negative
spiral of thought or, perhaps, if we are stuck in habitual behavior that
we'd like to change.

Examples of "pattern interrupts" are:

~ Humor, such as the example in this week's hand-lettered project

~
Clapping your hands in the middle of an argument, to allow people some
time to take a deep breath or take a walk to let off steam.

~ Taking a different route to work or school

~ Stepping away from a creative problem that may be frustrating you, by taking a walk or doing the dishes

This
phrase about snowballs seems to address a particular type of stuckness
to me. It says to me, first and foremost, that it is OKAY to let
yourself want something, even if you have a habit of telling yourself
"no" about it. And, then, whether it is a person you want to approach,
or a dream you want to go after, give yourself a PATTERN INTERRUPT.
There may be confusion or discomfort that come with trying a new
approach, perhaps with even THINKING about it. Be with those feelings.
Use this phrase to keep a positive slant on the discomfort. And when you
are ready to put those fears aside, even for a minute or two at a time,
then, know that, eventually, you too will be able to throw a snowball
right at that dream's face and make friends with it.

Join Me In My Instagram Addiction!

Pet Portraits and Illustrated Quotes by Harriet Faith

Follow me on Twitter!

About Me

All art on this blog is by moi unless otherwise noted and is copyright protected, baby.
After having worked as an Illustrator for WNBC-TV local news, as an Information Graphics Designer at the Associated Press and a variety of other design, illustration and production forays, I've wended my way back to creating the old fashioned way, with paper, paint and pencil. Sometimes textiles, too.